2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
A major earthquake struck Taiwan over the weekend, which triggered a tsunami warning as far away as Japan.
This reminded me of when we first moved to Israel in 2003.
I was in my Hebrew class downtown, and my wife and one-month-old baby were alone in our Jerusalem apartment. My wife called me immediately, and this is what she told me; I'll never forget it.
She was sitting in our bedroom with our 1-month-old in her arms when out of nowhere came a sudden loud roaring sound, followed by a shaking of all four walls and all the contents within banging back and forth against them rapidly and with great force. So many things were going through her mind at that moment as she tried to remember what you're supposed to do in a scenario like this. Are you supposed to get under the bed? Or maybe get outside? Yeah, outside! But it would be three flights of steps to get outside, and with a newborn baby in her arms -- how?! She just froze in fright, thinking about what could happen next. But in the midst of it all, Riv looked down at Elianna in her arms. Would you believe she was perfectly content -- happy, smiling, even drifting off to sleep as the whole earth shook all around her. Wow.
Each of us can take a lesson from Elianna. Even in the midst of all the chaos, distress, or crises beyond our control, we must rest, trusting that we're safe in the loving arms of the Father. We shouldn't have a care in the world.
Is your world being shaken right now? Know that God is holding you today. No matter what you're facing, you can trust Him to cover you. Just lay back and enjoy the ride!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Rockets are flying through the skies of Israel and many are landing on the ground. Emails are also flying through cyberspace as people all over the world express support through prayer for us and our nation. Words cannot express our gratitude for your care and concern. In times like these the best and the worst are brought out in people: either the peace, confidence, and strength which come from faith, or the fear and panic which overwhelms the souls of worldly men.
Since moving to Israel we’ve been thrust into a Middle Eastern culture of “extreme hospitality”. The above parable from Luke takes place in a similar cultural context, and it powerfully illustrates how God wants us to approach Him.
Unless you’re up on your biology, you’re probably wondering, “What in the world is a coney?” I certainly was. After doing a little research, I discovered that a coney is a rock badger.
I ran across a profound story that shows what happens when the family structure breaks down — but this didn’t have to do with people — it had to do with elephants.
As some of you may know, a bomb exploded in a bus within blocks of our Jerusalem apartment when we first moved to Israel. That morning, my wife and I, along with our newborn baby, were heading to the city center to run a few errands when suddenly we heard the explosion. Within minutes, the sirens were screaming from every part of the city as officials quickly made their way to the scene. Later that month, the bus I was supposed to be on drove away as I watched it carry away the 50 or so people who would be critically injured and the 8 who would be dead seconds later, when that bus exploded before my very eyes. So, to put it mildly, we have seen firsthand how terrorism works and how it affects people.
Today marks Holocaust Memorial day here in Israel. At ten o’clock in the morning on this day, war sirens sound calling the entire Land to remembrance of the 6,000,000 Jews who died and many more who suffered under the Nazi regime during WW2. People in their homes and workplaces rise in silence; cars come to a halt, even on the highways; pedestrians stop where they are and pause… for one minute as the sirens wail, we remember.
We know a Christian woman who has struggled with her past for years. She rarely thinks or speaks of anything else. And as a result, her life has just spiraled downward, despite all our attempts to minister to her. It breaks our hearts to see.